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Characteristics of reported gonorrhea diagnoses during compared to pre COVID-19 pandemic, Baltimore City, Maryland
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4 2023
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Source: Sex Transm Dis. 50(4):215-223
[PDF-378.96 KB]
Details:
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Alternative Title:Sex Transm Dis
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Personal Author:
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Description:Background:
Sexual health service disruptions due to COVID-19 mitigation measures may have decreased gonorrhea screening and biased case-ascertainment towards symptomatic individuals. We assessed changes in reported symptoms and other characteristics among reported gonorrhea cases during- vs. pre-pandemic periods in one city with persistent gonorrhea transmission.
Methods:
Enhanced surveillance data collected on a random sample of gonorrhea cases reported to the Baltimore City Health Department between March 2018–September 2021 was used. Logistic regression assessed differences in case characteristics by diagnosis period (during-pandemic: March 2020–September 2021; pre-pandemic: March 2018–September 2019).
Results:
Analyses included 2,750 (1,090 during-pandemic, 1,660 pre-pandemic) gonorrhea cases, representing 11,904 reported cases. During- vs. pre-pandemic, proportionally fewer cases were reported by sexual health clinics (8.8% vs. 23.2%), and more frequently reported by emergency departments/urgent care centers (23.3% vs. 11.9%). Adjusting for diagnosing provider, fewer cases who were males with urethral infections [aOR: 0.65, 95% CI: (0.55–0.77)], aged <18 [aOR: 0.64, (0.47–0.89)], and females [aOR: 0.84, (0.71–0.99)] were reported, and cases with insurance [aOR: 1.85, (1.40–2.45)], living with HIV [aOR: 1.43, (1.12–1.83)], or recent (≤12 months) gonorrhea history [aOR: 1.25, (1.02–1.53)] were more frequently reported during- vs. pre-pandemic. Reported symptoms and same-day/empiric treatment did not differ across periods.
Conclusions:
We observed no changes in reported symptoms among cases diagnosed during- vs. pre-pandemic. Increased frequency of reported diagnoses who were insured, living with HIV, or with recent gonorrhea history are suggestive of differences in care access and/or care seeking behaviors among populations with high gonorrhea transmission during the pandemic.
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Source:
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Pubmed ID:36473236
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Pubmed Central ID:PMC10009801
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Funding:
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Volume:50
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Issue:4
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